5

Someone ate a kizayit of food items that require a shehakol. He decided that he is done eating and said boreh nefashot.

What should he do if he decides to go for another piece? Should he say another shehakol, or can he rely on the first one?

Does a beracha acharona cancel out the beracha rishona?

Improve this question
2
  • I believe that it does. The prime example can be taken from Birkat Hamazon, which is, like the "leader" of ending brachot. Example - when Erev Pesach occurs on Shabbat, to be able to eat 3 meals, we wash, say Bircat Hamotzi, eat, bench, wash again, say Bircat Hamotzi eat and bench again. So, since u bencthed the 1st time, that means u ended the 1st meal, and to start the 2nd meal, u have to wash & make a new Hamotzi. I thus assume, that the example of Bircat Hamazon follows through to your shehakol / borei nefashos example.
    – DanF
    Aug 22, 2014 at 19:55
  • 1
    related judaism.stackexchange.com/q/18750/759
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 24, 2014 at 4:48

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

A person's beracha rishona and beracha acharona are not always connected, in terms of one ending with the other. You can have situations, according to some Rishonim (Tosefos and Rosh in Arvei Pesachim, cited by Rama O.C. 178:2) where a person needs to make a new beracha rishona even though he has not made a beracha acharona, as in the case of leaving and coming back in the middle of eating. What ends a beracha rishona is hesech hada'as, the removal of your "awareness" from the eating on which you made the beracha. Mishna Berura 179:3 says that even a firm mental decision to stop eating constitutes such a hesech hada'as.

A beracha acharona constitutes a hesech hada'as, because it is a declaration that you are done eating. Mishna Berura states this explicitly in 190:1 regarding benching. Therefore, you would need to make a new blessing, but not because your beracha acharona "ended" your beracha rishona, but because your beracha acharona amounted to, or was a manifestation of, a hesech hada'as.

Improve this answer
6
  • I'm not sure your last sentence is accurate. According to it, if I'm planning on taking my next sip of coffee (without changing location) in enough time to no longer have satiation from the coffee I already drank (say, 30 minutes) I can say a Borei Nefashot now without having to make a new bracha in 30 minutes? If I don't say the Borei Nefashot I would not make a new bracha and you claim Borei Nefashot doesn't "end" a bracha rishona.
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 24, 2014 at 4:55
  • @DoubleAA Why does that result from what I wrote? Your Borei Nefashos "now" would be a hesech hada'as. It is a declaration that you are done, even if you are just done "for now." My only point was that a beracha acharona is not somehow closing down your beracha rishona, like an on-off switch - your beracha acharona is not the deconstruction of your beracha rishona. It does come with a hesech hada'as. Did I misunderstand you?
    – Y     e     z
    Aug 24, 2014 at 5:05
  • How is the Hesech Hadaas different in that situation if you make the Borei Nefashot or not? Either way you are very, very convinced you won't continue drinking for 30 minutes. The only way I see it making a difference is if it is an "off" switch, which you claim it isn't.
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 24, 2014 at 5:06
  • @DoubleAA I think if you are convinced you won't continue drinking, for 5 minutes, as a definitive decision, you should make a new blessing. There are degrees of decidedness, but if you have reached the threshold, then yes you would need a new beracha a half hour later without the B"N. If you say "I am absolutely done drinking for the next half hour" why would that not be an interruption in your blessing?
    – Y     e     z
    Aug 24, 2014 at 5:08
  • I'm not sure where the line is. You say 5 minutes is too long. What about 3 seconds? On the other side, I have seen people use the restroom for more than 5 minutes without a new blessing. What if it's now 29 minutes in and you still might drink at any moment, but you are afraid of losing your opportunity of saying Borei Nefashot. Can you say it without losing your bracha rishona?
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 24, 2014 at 5:12

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .